Experimental Cage
by DayLightDove
Summary: (AU) The EATH was a terrible place made for testing and experimenting on animals. North, Aster, Tooth, and Sandy are a group of animals that are test subjects there and when a new animal comes they try to befriend them. Jack is a fox kit that has just arrived at EATH and he constantly has his guard up. Can they make Jack trust them and become comfortable? (Full summary inside)
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so this is the first chapter of this. I haven't done an AU like this yet so bare with me.**

**I don't own ROTG.**

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><p><strong>Full Summary:<strong>

**(AU) The EATH was a terrible place made for testing and experimenting on animals. North, Aster, Tooth, and Sandy are a group of animals that are test subjects there and when a new animal comes they try to befriend them. Jack is a fox kit that has just arrived at EATH and he constantly has his guard up. Can they make Jack trust them and become as comfortable as possible here? Will new things begin to happen thanks to the arrival and maybe, just maybe will they finally get out of the hell hole they're forced to live in?**

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><p><strong>Insight of the story. <strong>

**This story is about the Guardians being experimental animals. I wanted Aster to be a bunny but still taller the Jack so this came up.**

**Jack- A fox kit about 8 months old to 1 year.**

**Aster- A rabbit about 4-5 years old**

**Tooth- A hummingbird about 5 years old**

**North- A bear about 7 years old**

**Sandy- A hedgehog about 9 years old**

**MiM- A wolf about 13 years old.**

**Those are all the people right now.**

**The EATH isn't real, I made it up.**

**Anyway onto the story!**

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><p>Tires screeched as the truck stopped in front of a large building. A man exited the truck and headed to the back, opening the doors and taking out a crate. The man then headed into the building with the crate and after checking in, he headed down the white halls to a special part of the building.<p>

You see, this building was the EATH, Experimental Animal Testing Habitat. Here the animals were experimented on and lived in a single part of the building together. This area was a wide open area within EATH that had dirt for the ground, only it was on top of the stone floor of the building, with hard white walls and a glass ceiling. There were trees and bushes planted within the dirt and grown to look as though they lived within a forest, but really they didn't.

They happened to be referring to the animals that lived in this space. First there was North. He was a large brown bear with a Russian accent around the age of 7 years old. From the tests he has been given, North has been known to have great strength, stronger than any animal should have. Next there is Tooth. She is a humming-bird that had grown from a normal size to being slightly larger than North's paw from the tests and is about 5 years old. Next is Aster. He is a gray rabbit with an Australian accent and about 4-5 years old. From all the tests, he, like Tooth, has grown but he grew much large, about half the size of North. Next is Sandy. He's a hedgehog and one of the oldest being at 9 years old. From the tests he's only an inch smaller then Tooth and his head and back were the color of golden sand while his underbelly and neck were a shade lighter. Then finally there was Manny. He was a wolf and about the age of 13. His fur was a silvery gold that shinned much like the moon and he seemed to have a glow come off of him from the tests. There were others but they weren't seen as much as them.

The group, except for Manny who wasn't near them, watched as the man with the crate entered the room through a glass door, opened the crate, and then left.

"Who do you think it is?!" Tooth whispered excitedly as she zipped around the others in a colorful flash.

"I do not know." North answered.

"Hopefully their not annoying." Aster huffed angling his ear for any sort of sound, he heard a shuffling noise but nothing else.

"Bunny!" Tooth scolded flying up to his face and pecking his snout causing him to yelp.

Sandy was slowly creeping towards the crate, trying to look inside. He caught sight of a brown fluffy tail and brown eyes peaking over it before the eyes vanished. Sandy paused for a moment before creeping closer and poking his head in. There was a small growl before Sandy motioned for the animal in the crate to come out. He watched as brown eyes watched him warily and in response, he offered a warm smile. There was a shuffling movement as the curled up form uncurled and crept closer to Sandy. Sandy slowly moved back as the other moved closer and moved back towards the now silent others.

A small nose poked its way out, taking a sniff before a head, followed by a body and tail came out of the crate. The new comer was a young fox kit, looking to be about 6-8 months old, maybe a year old. It had chestnut colored fur with darker brown for the paws and white tipped tail and soft brown eyes. Its ears were currently down but they slowly started twitching and pointing upward.

"Hi!" Tooth chirped causing the kit's attention to be directed towards her. "I'm Tooth, that's North, Aster, and Sandy. What's your name?"

The kit blinked and stared at her for a bit and then glanced at the others before looking back at her.

"Jack, my names Jack.

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><p><strong>It's a short prologue I know but what ever.<strong>

**So that was chapter one tell me what you think!**

**Feel free to comment, PM me, make reasonable flames, etc.**

**Until next time! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok so this is the next chapter.**

**Wow this got a lot of follows/favorites/reviews. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY! 0W0**

**Anyway thank you so much for the support!**

**Questions asked:**

**Frostbite Queen: Will Mim and Sandy speak. That is answered in this chapter! :D**

**Liliana Dragonshard: Will Jack get his staff and winter powers? Not to start off maybe latter on but not after the first experiment. Sorry!**

**seems-pretty-legit: Of course Jack will be adorable! XD**

**That's that so onto the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Jack- A fox kit about 8 months<strong>

**Aster- A rabbit about 4-5 years old**

**Tooth- A hummingbird about 5 years old**

**North- A bear about 7 years old**

**Sandy- A hedgehog about 9 years old**

**MiM- A wolf about 13 years old.**

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><p>"Oh you're so cute!" Tooth squealed as she fluttered in front of the kit, practically being the same size as the kit's head. "Oh how old are you?! I mean you're not any older then a kit! Oh but you are so cute, just look at your fur and face!" She continued to coo and squeal over the young fox, making him uncomfortable as he barely understood a word she said.<p>

"Tooth!" North shouted, the bear's booming voice catching everyone's attention, making Tooth shut up and Jack's ears to fall back in surprise and fear. Seeing the kit's reaction, North lowered his voice. "Control yourself. Jack is new here. Do not overwhelm him so suddenly. He doesn't even know us!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Jack! It's just you were so cute and-"

"Tooth."

"Right, sorry." With that she fluttered backwards, giving the fox his space.

Jack was so confused. He was brought to this strange place and then suddenly he's approached by animals he didn't know! His chocolate eyes moved over each of them as he took small step back and his ears pressed against his head.

"There's no need to be afraid." Tooth cooed as she tried to calm the kit.

"Why!" He choked out, his eyes wide and flicking over each of them. "I don't know where I am or who any of you are! I'm don't know why I'm here…wherever her is and how do I know none of you will attack me?!"

"We won't attack you, promise." North said but it didn't seem to calm the young fox.

"If we were going to attack we could have done it already." Aster spoke up causing the kit to focus on him. "We're older and, besides Tooth and Sandy, North and I could easily take you down, but we haven't. That and with the way Tooth was cooing over you, she'd kill us if we attacked such a young kit like yourself."

Jack seemed to blush at the statement and looked away.

"As for your questions, you'll have them answered when you come with us." North said and Jack turned towards him and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Why?"

"You won't get hurt!" North quickly stated. "We were just going to bring you to someone who could explain what was going on better than the rest of us. His name is Manny."

Jack watched him for a moment before his eyes flicked to Sandy. The hedgehog offered him a small smile before nodding his head, the brown golden speckled eyes shining with a comforting warmth. Taking a deep breath, Jack slowly drew closer to the older animals, but decided to stay near Sandy. The two stared at each other, brown meeting brown, as they came to a silent understanding and Sandy turned and nodded at the others. So, after a moment's hesitation, the group set off through the fake trees.

After they walked, in a welcomed silence, for a few feet they came to what looked to be a cave. It was large and had a flat top showing that one would be able to walk upon it. The rock was a pale brown and gray.

"Well, who is this young fox kit?" a voice hummed from the opening of the cave. Jack watched as a pale wolf, the fur looking as though it came straight from the full moon, walked out from the opening of the cave. His silver eyes locked onto Jack's brown ones. Jack took a step back, as though trying to hide behind sandy who was only one third the kit's size.

"This is Jack, he just arrived today." Tooth piped up. "Jack this is Manny. He is the oldest of everyone here."

"Well, Jack, it's a pleasure to meet you." Manny said, a soft smile gracing his muzzle. In response, Jack just looked towards the ground and gave a small nod. Manny chuckled. "A shy one I see. As reasonable as your nervousness is, I can promise you that none of us will harm you." The only response given was Jack turning his gaze back on him. Shaking his head Manny turned towards the others. "Besides informing me of this young ones arrival, why have you come?"

"We'd like you to explain things to the boy, if you don't mind." North said with a smile.

"Of course I'll explain things to him, it is no trouble." Manny turned towards the kit with a smile. Seeing Jack wasn't moving, Aster scoffed and gently pushed the fox towards Manny, who laughed when the boy shot a glare at the rabbit.

"Come Jack," Manny said nudging the fox with his snout. "I'll explain to you what is going on." Taking one last glance behind him, seeing Sandy nodding at him, Jack quietly padded next to the large wolf as they walked into the mouth of the cave. They walked deep into the cave, seemingly a lot deeper than it had looked but still staying lit with some kind of light. Finally they stopped.

"Take a seat Jack." Manny said as he sat down himself. Jack hesitated for a moment before sitting down, crossing his tail over his front paws.

"So…you'll explain everything?" Jack asked.

"Of course but first I'd like to find out a little about you." Manny said with smile. "I'm curious Jack, how old are you?"

Jack seemed to shrug. "I don't know, eight months if I remember correctly. Yeah that sounds right. Why?"

"No reason in particular but where were your parents when you were…caught? Surely they were still watching over you."

Jack's ears drooped and he furrowed his brows, a thinking expression clearly written on his face. "I-I think they were killed? Maybe. I don't really remember. I remember running, a scream, and then I was in the crate."

A frown graced the wolf's lips. "You don't remember? You seem to have forgotten a few things, it appears."

"Yeah it appears that way huh? But what does this have to do with what's going on?"

Manny sighed and shook his head. "I guess I should get down to business, yes?" He received a nod. "Alright. You see Jack, you have been brought to EATH. EATH is a place where animals like us are experimented on. The reasons for this remain a mystery to me, sadly."

"Is that why the others were all strange looking?" Jack inquired. "Because they had all been experimented on?"

"Yes, that is the truth. Aster's experiment had caused growth, North's had caused strength, Tooth's also caused growth, and Sandy's caused him to lose his voice, grow slightly, and turn sand-ish."

"What about you? Did you get experimented on?" Jack asked, his voice soft but full of curiosity.

Manny gave a soft smile and a hollow chuckle. "Why, my dear kit, I am the oldest one here. Of course I've been experimented on. Why do you think I look as though I should live upon the moon?"

"Oh." Was all Jack said in response.

"And sadly it will happen to you too." This made the fox's eyes widen and instantly shoot his frightened gaze upon the older.

"What?! But I don't want to be experimented on!" Jack shouted in fright, now standing and taking steps backwards.

"No one wants to be, and I especially feel bad for such a young kit like you. You are far too young for this to happen to." Manny responded in a calm but sorrowful voice.

Jack was silent for a moment before speaking. "Is that why you asked what my age was?"

The wolf nodded. "You are the youngest one to have ever come here. All of us were either two to three years old by the time we were brought here."

Tears welled within chocolate pools. "Will they hurt me?" The question was whispered but the fox heard all the same.

"Perhaps, or perhaps you'll have one of the nicer humans."

"Will you protect me from the bad ones?" Fearful chocolate met soft silver. Manny could see many emotions flickering through the kit's orbs and when he caught sight of the desperate hope, the wolf melted.

"I'll try."

"Now, now. I wouldn't keep promises you can't keep, Manny." A voice rang from the deeper shadows of the cave, golden eyes shining in the darkness.

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><p><strong>This is a nice long chapter! YEAH!<strong>

**Anywho feel free to comment, flame, ask questions, etc.**

**Until next time! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok so this is the next chapter.**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and favs and follows!**

**So Pitch is actually a wolf because I couldn't help it! It was just this weird feeling I got that made me have to make him a wolf and it felt wrong to go against that feeling! OK!  
><strong>

**Anywho onto the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Jack- A fox kit about 8 months<strong>

**Aster- A rabbit about 4-5 years old**

**Tooth- A hummingbird about 5 years old**

**North- A bear about 7 years old**

**Sandy- A hedgehog about 9 years old**

**MiM- A wolf about 13 years old.**

**Pitch- A wolf about 13 years old**

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><p>Out of the shadows walked another wolf only this one seemed to be the complete opposite of Manny. This wolf was thinner than the other and had dark gray, almost black fur. Its golden eyes gleaming as it gazed at the kit slightly behind the other wolf.<p>

"Hello Pitch." Manny greeted with a neutral expression as he slightly stepped further in front of Jack.

"Who is the young one behind you that you're feeding lies to?" Pitch questioned in his velvety voice.

"This is Jack." Manny answered the darker wolf. Meanwhile Jack was confused. Who was this wolf? Where did he come from? Are there more animals here that he wasn't informed about? Before more questions could pile up in his mind, the new comer spoke.

"He is a little one isn't he," Pitch drawled as he lowered his head to smirk at the fox. Feeling bold, Jack stepped out from behind Manny.

"Who are you? And what are you talking about?" Jack asked being thankful he was able to hold back the tremble in his voice.

"They didn't mention me?" The fox shook his head. Turning to Manny he lowered his ears slightly. "I'm hurt Manny, then again I'm not surprised." He turned back to a smile and looked back at Jack.

"Well, my dear little kit, you probably have many questions, and I'll happily answer them for you. That is if Manny here will let me tell you of things he was going to keep from you."

"Go away Pitch." Manny said with a glare.

Pitch just grinned a sharp smile before leaning down to whisper into Jack's ear. "If you want to find me, look behind this cave." Then, with a swish of his tail, he was gone.

With a sigh, Manny turned back to Jack who was glaring at him. "Now Jack-"

"Who was that!?" Jack shouted. "What are you not telling me!? Are there other animals I don't know about!?"

"Please calm down, Jack. I'll tell you all that I can." Taking a deep breath, Jack sat down once more and the nodded for Manny to begin.

"Well, to start off, that was Pitch. He was part of my original pack that was brought here and were the first to be experimented on. I didn't tell you of Pitch because his experiment not only caused his fur to change color but his personality changed as well. He became vicious and conniving, attacking the humans so he was locked away in here, never experimented on again. While that may sound nice, I wouldn't advise doing what he did because the punishments he received to try to tame him were just…" He sighed. "In fact it made the humans fear any of us going rogue that they had wanted to put these collars on us that would help control us."

"Why don't you have them?"

"Because we decided to listen and not cause much trouble. We tried to rebel it once as well but it was painful. I beg you not to rebel, alright."

"Ok," Jack said. "What about my other question?"

Manny smiled. "To answer that, I can honestly say there are no other animals here. Or at least that I know of. Anything else, kit?"

Jack opened his mouth to ask what Pitch had meant about Manny lying but the fox hesitated. Would the silver wolf answer this question? He didn't seem very open to doing so when Pitch was here. Deciding not to ask, Jack closed his mouth and shook his head.

"Alright then." Manny said standing up. "Let go find the others. If I'm not mistaken, it should almost be feeding time."

The two walked out of the cave but Jack had paused to look back in hopes to catch sight of Pitch. Manny however nudged him with his snout and proceeded to continue forward, Jack silently following in tow. They headed towards the front of the habit room, where they met up with the other four. Jack had taken note how all but Pitch was here and wondered if the others even knew of Pitch's presence in the place.

"So Jack," North boomed as the food was pushed in through a slit in the ground that closed as soon as the food was in. "Do you understand what happens now?"

"Er…yeah I…do." Jack quietly spoke. He had chosen to sit next to Sandy, still feeling more comfortable with him than the others. They all ate and the original five had a nice conversation, occasionally bring Jack into the mix.

After eating, the others decided to go to sleep seeing as the evening was drawing near. After all was silent, Jack quietly headed back to the cave. He snuck around the rocks towards the back, only to find a small, shadowy space between the back of the cave and the wall.

"Pitch?" Jack called out in a whisper. "Pitch, are you here?" The young fox didn't receive an answer but when he turned to walk away, a voice called out.

"Now why has the little fox come crawling to me?"

Turning back around, Jack found golden eyes staring back. Shuffling his paws, Jack answered, "I just wanted to find out an answer that I could trust you could answer."

"Oh? And what is that?"

Taking a deep breath the kit answered. "What were you talking about when you said…when you said Manny was lying?"

A laugh came from the darkness. "So that's what you're curious about. Well the answer is as simple as that, he was lying. The old wolf can't protect you from their experiments, those humans will get you no matter what, no matter how painful. The best he can do is 'comfort' you after each one."

"But why would he lie?" Jack whispered in a horrified voice.

"Because you're a kit. But the way I see it, he shouldn't try to sugar coat any of the horrors you'll witness, because nothing will change what they'll do to you. In fact you should have the first experiment tomorrow morning." A horrified yelp came from the fox at this news.

_'I'm only here for a day and I'm already getting experimented on!' _Jack frantically thought.

"You better get some sleep." Pitch snickered, "You'll certainly need it." With that the eyes vanished back into the dark.

Whimpering, Jack slowly walked away and over to one of the bushes. Curling up next to it, he drifted off to sleep.

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><p><strong>So that was that. <strong>

**Feel free to comment, PM me, ask questions, etc.**

**Until next time! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok this is the next chapter.**

**Thank you all for reviews/follows/favorites.**

**To answer questions that were asked in the last chapter.**

**FrostBite Queen: Jack sounds younger for right now then his usual age, which for me he is 14 as a human. He won't probably sound the same as the movie until like, 1 years old or something of that sort.**

**Liliana Dragonshard: You'll see! It starts in this chapter though, and you'll just have to see how it progresses!**

**I believe that was all the questions. **

**So onto the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Jack- A fox kit about 8 months<strong>

**Aster- A rabbit about 4-5 years old**

**Tooth- A hummingbird about 5 years old**

**North- A bear about 7 years old**

**Sandy- A hedgehog about 9 years old**

**MiM- A wolf about 13 years old.**

**Pitch- A wolf about 13 years old**

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><p>When Jack woke the next morning, it was to the metal door that led into the room opening. A man in white walked in and over to him, towering over the poor fox. He had gray hair on his head and stubbles on his chin, as well as glasses. As the human reached down to grab him, Jack noticed out of the corners of his eyes that the other animals just stood by, watching sadly as the kit's picked up by his fur on his neck. He squirms in the human's hold, uncomfortable with how he's being carried, only for the grip to tighten. Jack stopped squirming to stare down at the others, brown eyes holding fear and betrayal.<p>

_'Pitch was right.' _He thought as he was carried out of the room. _'They lied! Why would they lie!?'_

The human carried Jack through white halls and into a scary looking room. There were sharp tools the shinned in the light of the lights overhead. There was a metal table with chains connected to it in the center of the room. There were other contraptions that Jack didn't even want to find out what they did as they stood near the walls ominously. There were other humans dressed in white in there, all of them looking their way as they entered. One of the newer humans began to speak. Even though the humans couldn't understand what animals said, doesn't mean they couldn't understand what humans said.

"Is this the one that is being tested on?"

"Of course." The man holding him responded as he carried Jack over to the table. "Is everything ready?" He received a nod. "Good."

He placed Jack down on the table and grabbed the chains. Before Jack could try to get away, though, a chain was already clamped around one paw, soon joined by three more. The young fox struggled in the chains, but it was a futile attempt as the chains were fit tightly around each leg. But even so, he continued to struggled, only to receive a painful slap in the back of his head causing a yelp to escape. But, the hit received the desired effect as Jack stopped his struggling and sat still.

The human grinned and walked away from the table and across the room to the other humans. One of them picked up a syringe filled with a pale blue liquid and handed to the older human. He grinned and walked back over to the cowering kit, whose ears had lowered in fear and tail curling in closer. The human grinned and brought the needle to Jack's neck, piercing through the fur and into skin beneath. With a push of his finger, the pale liquid was injected into the fox until none was left in the syringe.

Pain instantly overcame the fox.

Jack never felt anything like this in his life. The liquid was frigid, sending pins of chilled needles through his veins. His body was both numb and in excruciating aguish. It almost felt as if they had forced him into a frozen lake's water and causing the water to rush into his lugs. He cried out as icy claws seemed to wrap around him, stabbing into his thrashing form. He writhed in pain upon the table, letting out yelps and whimpers and growls. The humans just stood there, watching as the liquid took its effect on the fox. Finally, after what felt like hours of trembling in agony, Jack's vision began to darken and was soon lost in numbing darkness.

When Jack awoke, he was in a cage. His senses were dulled and his eye sight was blurry, however he could slightly make out voices coming outside the cage.

"We'll have to see how it progresses over time, sir. It hasn't even taken on the full effect we predicted."

"And how long until it's completely done?"

"We don't know, but we can monitor the fox, see how the liquid progresses over time. If you notice, sir, it is already having effects upon it." At that Jack furrowed his eyebrows. What? He looked down at is body and gasped. While his paws were still brown, his fur had turned while half way up his legs and down his belly. Before he could freak out, however, the cage was picked up and carried out of the room. As they walked down the halls once more, Jack caught his reflection in one of the lab's windows. He gasped when he saw his chin to his belly was completely white as well as the lower parts, except his paws, were white. One of his eyes had changed blue while the other had stayed it chocolate brown.

Finally they reached the place where the animals were kept and Jack was tossed in. As the door closed behind him, Jack took shaky steps forward, sniffing to see if any of the others were near, because honestly, he didn't want to see any of them. That didn't last long though, for soon a colorful blur zipped out from the trees.

"Oh Jack!" Tooth exclaimed as she fluttered around his face, "Oh look at you! What did they do?! Are you ok? Do you hurt anywhere?"

"Tooth!" North called as he and the other animals, excluding Pitch, walked towards them. "Give boy space."

"Oh, right! I'm sorry, Jack. I was just worried." With that she backed up next to the others.

"Are you alright Jack?" Manny asked gently as he took a step towards the kit. Jack shook his head, tears shinning in his multicolored eyes.

"You lied to me!" He exclaim, hurt in his voice. "Why?!"

"I didn't want to hurt you." The responded. Jack shook his head and backed away from them, only for his shaking limbs to give out, making him collapse to the ground.

"Jack!" They all exclaimed, running over to help the kit. Jack, however, was having none of it and tried to push back onto his paws, shaking with the effort. Just as he was about to fall again, he was caught by Bunny.

"Hang on there, mate." He said to the fox laying on his neck. "You're obviously in no position to be moving by yourself. I mean, bloody hell. What did they do to you?"

"It's nothing." Jack mumbled, eyes dropping as weariness began to overcome him. Manny came over and picked the kit up by the scruff on his neck, but it was much gentler then what the human had done. They all walked back to the cave and settled down to rest.

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><p><strong>So that was that! <strong>

**Feel free to comment, ask questions, etc.**

**Until next time! :D**


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